tabitha Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 My DD has done lots of RBS auditions (we used to joke it was a family hobby) and our experience was that they were always very relaxed with lots of smiling from the staff to try to make the children feel relaxed. There was also lots of discussion between the staff and sometimes they were not that quiet and DD could hear what they were saying and it was always about the candidates. I suspect if there was laughing, it was part of their style of trying to make it relaxed. I would also not get too hung up on whether there are spaces or not. If they like you they'll find room and sometimes they shuffle numbers between year groups. Good Luck to all auditioning and enjoy the experience! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I do feel that is probably a bit of a myth that they can tell who they want just on seeing them walk in the room though!! I'm sure they are not as unprofessional to be laughing at the students they are auditioning as that is completely outrageous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 When dd was a RBS Associate her teacher said that to succeed in an audition you had to tick all the boxes, and then have something extra that made you stand out. So if a candidate has a cross in one or more boxes then the decision has already been made. Don't know whether these boxes are actual, on the panel's forms, or just metaphorical! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 As part of the audition, the candidate are called one by one to stand facing, side ways and back. They do a couple of exercises. I am sure this is to check out if they have the correct physique for what they want. This procedure used to be done at the very beginning of the audition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Tulip, I have just walked through the door returning from dd's audition and have asked her and she said yes they were made to do this right at the beginning! Dd enjoyed audition and said it was just the same as her usual class, nothing too hard and said the judges were very friendly and made the children feel comfortable. Not high hope as with most others when the odds are so stached against them but still fingers crossed and let the waiting game commence lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 All auditions are good experiences for the future. It's just the waiting game for results that's hard, and also the emotional strength to deal with any no's that your child may receive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckyshoes Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 My DD daughter auditioned yesterday and was actually behind the panel at the bar and said unless they both craned their necks they would not have seen any of her bar work and said , they glanced at her once only. She was abit disappointed too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisiblecircus Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I do feel that is probably a bit of a myth that they can tell who they want just on seeing them walk in the room though!! I agree, but they can probably tell who they DON'T want just on seeing them walk in the room! Since a specific physique is one of their major requirement and it is obvious immediately if someone doesn't have what they're after, I immagine they probably stop considering that person for a place right away. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Omg really Tracey47?!?! Even if all this talk of them knowing who they want within the first couple of minutes is true I still think that common curtacey would be for them to watch every child in that room, and ok it's never going to be 100% fair and their time divided equally between each child, but to actually have children behind them is wrong and I think unfair!! I would not be happy if that were me!! My daughter said that nobody was behind the panel today so maybe the class was over subscribed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Just curious,as I know nothing about the Royal Ballet School. Who decides who is placed where at the barre when they first walk in? Are they at the barre in numerical order? If so,who issues them the numbers 1 to 30 or whatever? Are they assigned a particular number ;i.e.Jane Smith is number 4,or is it done on the day by the people as they walk into the building? ,So,Jane Smith was the fourth girl to arrive that morning,so she is given number 4? Or could it be that the panel,or someone on it has already pre-assigned the candidates their numbers ,and therefore those who will be most visible to them,judging by their photographs and the numbers they are then given? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckyshoes Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Yes dd said it was a big class and was hoping they would rotate the lines for the centre work but unfortunately they didn't and was on the back row .. To be honest though she knows it was a long shot and I'm sure they look at all the children but it was just the way she perceived the situation. Onwards and upwards as they say ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Smiles Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Thank you for feedback. my daughter was in the 2:45pm Jane H. We know a girl in your group and she was nearly in tears and one other girl was very distraught. I think we all agree we are not talking of specific attention to each child (as there are about 30 of them and only 2 judges) but just a 'little respect for the girls'. As Tabitha mentioned, they were chatting about candidates a little loud that your dd can hear, I would have thought, they would do the discussion afterwards. Anyway, thanks again and best wishes. As someone mentioned in one of the discussion 'there are many pathways that leads to Rome' - OURS is Tring! Edited January 21, 2015 by Smiles 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I pretty certain if you're a JA it is pre-decided who they want at finals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Thequays the numbers are pre-assigned and 5 mins before audition starts they gather all the children and call out their names and give them their numbers, and from what I saw it wasn't done in alphabetical or age order (I knew a few others in audition from dd's associates class) so not sure how it is worked out whether just at random or if they had some sort of system?? And they are lined at the barre in numerical order. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaneH Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks Smiles and best wishes and good luck to your dd, not sure where our path lies yet, dd has just started at tring cba after a November audition and is looking forward to her second class this week so she's going to focus on that for a while, it's a lovely place and everyone is friendly just wondering, might your dd be the girl my dd spoke to at tring cba who is starting full time there in September? I know she was in the 2.45 on Sunday as we said hello! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) I agree that there is probably a preferred physique but I do think that if they saw a child who did not have the absolute perfect body but did have that something extra and very special that goes beyond technique that they would give that child a chance. Students with perfect bodies don't always have that something extra .........though of course there are a very few who have it all. I still think when you look at the Royal Ballet as a company ......Which is after all where most of the prospective students would like to be dancing eventually if dreams came true .....the dancers do have varying body types in fact. If it was purely physique they were looking for initially then why not just ask for photos from different angles so as to stop wasting people's time and money!! Auditions are not a good experience for a child in my view if they do not have at least SOME chance of being considered. If I thought I was completely wasting my child's time I must say I wouldn't let them take part. However I do happen to think that it is fairer than some may imagine. Edited January 21, 2015 by LinMM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miracle Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Prehaps the number order relates to the order in which application arrived.X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 My daughter was always number 1 or 2 as her surname begins with a B. I must admit I thought all auditions including RBS were done by alphabetical order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happymum Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 At my DD's Bath RBS audition ( for Year 7 + just a couple for year 8) it was done by age. The youngest (born August - July) were at the beginning with my DD (September) being no 14-16 - can't remember! After her were the girls trying for year 8 and then boys. That made sense to me - as the y6 girl born sept - October might be more developed physically then the one with summer birthday. So it looked all well organised and my DD enjoyed it. I'm sorry to read about other's bad experience. My DD's surname starts with B so I thought she will be at the front, close to the panel but she was at the far end in the corner of the room for the whole barre work and in the second to last lane for the centre - but still - she enjoyed it and came out smiling. I'll ask her today about the panel talking and laughing - she didn't mention anything like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBA Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) My daughter is a W and was towards the front of the barre and in the front line in the centre. She was a JA and is now at WL. It could just be chance though ! Edited January 21, 2015 by BBA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonrothbart Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I feel sure the numbering is age related, the youngest first. Ours was born on 30 August, and she has always been number 1, with the cut off date being 31st August. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletmumfor2 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 My two dd's have done several auditions over the years as were both Associates. In their auditions, numbers were allocated according to age. Younger mids ended up at one end of the bar & older ones at the other. I once asked if it was possible for my two girls to audition on the same day for mids and sa's as it entailed a day off for my husband. I was told it would depend on my youngest dd's age as the oldest mids are often on the same day as sa's depending on numbers auditioning. Ja auditions are very simple. First a look at front, back & side with feet in parallel. My dd told me some children were given a cross at this stage. Then frogs, splits etc. Then pointing feet with socks off. At this stage it is all about do they have nice feet, good turnout, long legs to torso etc. There is little dancing in this audition. Skips to ascertain musicality. Obviously in older auditions they are looking for more technique. I was very surprised by the range of physiques in sa's as children in mids and ja's are often quite similar. The panel do talk out loud at times. My youngest dd said she was sure she had got finals in year 7 as she heard them mentioning her number favourably as she did turning skips past the panel. Although I was sceptical about this she was recalled to finals that year. With such large numbers auditioning they can afford to be fussy. There are always a few children who don't seem to fit the mould however & are just beautiful dancers. Even associate teachers are often surprised by the ones picked so I don't think decisions are made before the actual audition. They like to compare all the children together. You need to go with no expectations so no-one is disappointed. Having done 11 years between them, we are waiting to see if younger dd will get sa's this yr. However, I have no idea since it will depend who else they see at auditions and which children go on to vocational schools. Enjoy the experience & anything else that comes from it is a bonus. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pas de chat Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Surely it is done by DOB? If you are currently in year 7 applying for year 8 and there was a particuarly tall girl at the back of the line and she was an October baby and a particular small girl at the front who was an August baby they could probably say it was due to the fact one was much older/younger than the other without referring to cvs. DD went to the insight day at RBS in October and they did it this way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 It is done by date of birth. A friend of ours once asked them at the audition. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Wow that has really shocked me then as my dd was the last number so that would mean she was the oldest and yet I am almost positive she is not the oldest in her class and nearly all her fellow associates were in the same audition?! Maybe she is the eldest after all, I often fall for the mistake of assuming bigger girls are older as my dd is absolutly tiny it's easy to assume everyone else must be older, when i should know better lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 If they are seeing a lot in the same year group on the same day, perhaps younger ones might be in one audition and older ones in the next? Who knows? They have to do it some way or other! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miracle Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Audition group times are decided by distance from venue too? X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamy11 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) My dd was no 33 and she's end of aug , could it be surname? Edited January 22, 2015 by Janet McNulty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I think it's probably not worth the energy trying to work out numbering systems. The whole auditions process is so time consuming and exhausting and stressful I would save it for the things you can control...... Sorry if that sounds stroppy!! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 It doesn`t sound stroppy at all,sarahw; just a good piece of advice.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 No sarahw don't sound stroppy at all, you could go around in circles trying to work it out!! All I know for a fact is my dd has a 'm' surname and there were 'p' and 't' surnames before her, so for her audition it wasn't alphabetical as for DOB I have no idea cause I don't know for sure the ages of all the other children Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lema Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 No sarahw don't sound stroppy at all, you could go around in circles trying to work it out!! All I know for a fact is my dd has a 'm' surname and there were 'p' and 't' surnames before her, so for her audition it wasn't alphabetical as for DOB I have no idea cause I don't know for sure the ages of all the other children 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harwel Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I was thinking the same sarahw. I know the tendancy to analyse everything, to see if we can glean any clues but the positioning in an audition, I'm pretty sure, won't help anyone. I have to say I'm pretty surprised the rows weren't rotated. My son is the 3rd generation dancer in our family and we have all steered well clear of RBS, so I have no direct experience of the school but from everything I have ever heard I think they are a complete law unto themselves and you'll proably tie yourselves in knots trying to make sense of the whole process. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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